The present invention relates to an event-planning organizer utilizing paper, plastic, polymer, and or computer-generated and printed objects to create scaleable and resizable representations of actual room fixtures, and person characterizations. Events can include weddings, wedding receptions, parties, or business related functions. Event planning can involve the arrangement and orientation of room fixtures, such as furniture, lighting, doorways, stages, podiums, tables, and other room artifacts. Event planning can also include the organization and arrangement of guests or attendees, generally referred to as an event seating chart, or event seating preferences. More specifically, the present invention relates to a convenient, fast, and reliable system and method to plan an event including room fixture placement, and guest seating preferences.
Organizing an event such as a wedding, wedding reception, party, or business meeting can be difficult to an event organizer unfamiliar with the detailed steps associated with event planning. There can be many factors to consider including, procurement of a suitable event location, event room size considerations, and food catering requirements. In addition, event organizers may have to include special accommodations for handicapped guests (special needs guests), make provisions for guest seating preferences, and insuring convenient and clear access to food and other event location facilities.
Event organizers may be responsible for insuring room layouts, room fixtures and furniture organization do not violate maximum room occupancy laws and or applicable fire code rules, regulations, and or laws. These fire code and law violations can occur when furniture and other room fixtures are too numerous with respect to room size or positioned inappropriatelyxe2x80x94blocking fire exits or safety equipment. In addition inappropriate placement of open flames, such as candles and food warmers can cause fire hazards.
Too many tables or tables poorly organized within a room can cause other problems including the appearance that the event was poorly attended. In addition, undue separation of guests can prevent easy conversation and discourage guest mingling. Additionally, poor room layout can unduly impede the guest""s ability to move from table to table, access key event areas, and easily enter or exit a room safely.
Planning the layout of a room for an event can include other factors such as insuring each person seated at a table has a clear view of a stage or activity focal area. In general activity focal areas can include a head or main table, a speaking podium, stage, dance floor, or music/disc jockey area. It may also be necessary to allow enough room for each guest to reposition chairs to view a stage, move to an unobstructed view of an activity focal area, or stand without interference of nearby tables.
Selection of furniture can influence the layout of a room. Tables of different geometry (round, oval, square, and rectangle) occupy different amounts of floor space and offer different advantages and disadvantages in guest seating options. Correspondingly, different size and shaped tables accommodate a varying amount of place settingsxe2x80x94as well as effectuate different, levels of guest interaction. A place setting being a space where guests and event attendees can eat and drink either individually or in a group. Further, counting place settings to insure each guest has a place to sit, eat and or drink can be difficult when the furniture varies in size and shape or if table geometry makes it difficult to estimate how many guests can be comfortably seated at a table. With numerous factors affecting room layout and table seating capacity determining the number of tables and most effective room layout can be difficult.
Event location owners or facilities managers can make available or otherwise provide certain types of furniture leaving only the room layout to be determined by the event organizer. Other location owners or facility managers may only provide access to the room, leaving the selection and procurement of room fixtures, including tables, the responsibility of the event organizer. In many cases the room fixtures required and how to best organize and utilize the room fixtures, and or utilize room space in a room layout can be left in part or in whole to the event organizer.
Current methods for arranging tables for an event can include physically going to a location and attempting to visualize mentally how a room completely setup and organized might appear. Other methods can include drawing a representation on paper and rough-drafting potential suitable room layouts. Yet other methods can include last minute organization the day of the event to push furniture around a room to try arrive at an acceptable arrangement. The foregoing table arrangement methods can be difficult to implement, plan in advance, copy for distribution, and awkward to manage changes. Changes and revisions can require extensive erasing and redrawingxe2x80x94significantly impacting the amount of time required to derive a preferred table arrangement or room layout scheme.
At many special events guest seating can be one of the most important and time-consuming steps in planning the room layout. For example, event planners at weddings may desire to seat the bride and groom at a head or main table in the front of the room, and then place members of the wedding party (best man, maid of honor, etc.) in close proximity to the bride and groom. Guests at the wedding can be divided into small groups and organized to occupy the general population of tables and place settings. The arrangement of whom sits where, and next to who can be a difficult and time consuming task, requiring numerous revisions and involving the input and consideration of two or more families, event planners and a host of other interested parties.
While organizing a seating preference chart event organizers may discover the table arrangement is inappropriate for one reason or another. Table count, arrangement, and geometry may need to be changed to perfect a preferred room layout and event-seating chart to meet individual preferences, and comply with applicable laws. Perfecting a room layout with seating chart can involve a significant amount of time, require numerous revisions, and extensive trial placement iteration.
Current methods of creating seating charts for an event can include the creation and manipulation of a list of guests written on a piece of paper. Other methods can include employing a number sequence and attempting to assign numbers to guests, and guests to tables. Yet other methods can include drawing a rough draft of the room and applying guest names to the rough draft of the room layout. The foregoing seating chart arrangement methods can be difficult to implement, plan in advance, copy for distribution, and awkward to manage changes. Further, lists of names are difficult to visualize where each person will be located making optimizing a seating chart difficult. Changes and revisions can require extensive erasing and redrawingxe2x80x94significantly impacting the amount of time required to derive a preferred seating chart.
In addition, current aforementioned methods for generating an event room layout (room fixture arrangement, and seating chart or seating preference chart) may not offer easy or flexible ways to resize and scale room fixtures in proportion to room size and actual room objects. For example the ability to scale a round table to be six feet in diameter with respect to the size of the event room is an important factor in determining how many six foot tables can comfortably fit in the event room. Further, the ability to quickly resize a six-foot diameter table to an eight-foot diameter table, with respect to room size can allow event organizers to rapidly decide which table size is better and how changes in table size impact seating capacity and guest seating preferences.
A combination of reasons give rise to the present invention including a need for a fast and reliably way to plan an event room layout. The ability to accommodate different shapes and sizes of rooms, and room fixtures (i.e. furniture, lighting, doors, etc.) can be critical factors in perfecting a preferred room layout and complying with applicable laws. In addition, the ability to scale and resize room fixtures to be in a ratio proportional to the room size and actual room objects would allow event organizers to more accurately derive a suitable preferred room layout plan in a minimal amount of time. Further, the ability to select and move room fixtures, such as tables, and guest seating assignments offers a fast and efficient way to optimize room setup and manage event attendee seating preferences.
In addition, when a room layout is complete the ability to make accurate clear copies for distribution to other event organizers can aid in resolving possible points of confusion or conflict. Points of confusion or conflict can include accurate placement of room fixtures in the event room, and accurate guest name card placement (proper seating assignments).
The present invention relates to an event-planning system, and method for planning an event room floor plan, determining place setting arrangements, and deriving preferred event attendee seating preferences. Room floor plan planning involves arranging type, size and position of room fixtures, such as table, stages, podiums, lighting, dance floors, music/disc jockey area, doors, emergency exits, room walls, and general room artifacts within an event room. Seating chart, or seating preference planning involves arranging, and organizing attendee seating including place settings and preferences for general guests, guests with special needs, and for key event people such as a bride and groom. Additionally, room floor plans and room fixtures, such as tables can be resized and scaled to a ratio proportional to the actual event room fixture and or room dimensions. Further, once arranged and positioned room fixtures and person characterizations, such as key people, guest and special needs guests can be fastened to the room floor plan. Fastening means can include magnets, glues, and adhesive strips. In certain embodiments a plurality of similar and or different strength, or types of adhesives, or fasteners can be utilized as fastening means. Further, the final form of an event that has been planned by the present invention can be easily duplicated for distribution by means of traditional photocopiers or by means of personal computer (PC) generation. PC generation is generally referred to as computer aided design (CAD). Further, the present invention is well suit for assembly and packaging in kit form. Different kits can be tailored for different types of events and for varying number of guests. Further PC software can be utilized for the generation and printing of room floor plans, room fixtures and person characterizations. Further, PC software can be utilized to produce a complete computer event-plan including the room floor plan, room fixtures, place settings and event-seating chart.